applying for SSI for my son

What is the name of your state?
California

I have made an SSI claim on behalf of my 5year old son. He has been diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed Ritalin. He also has speach difficutlies which require him to see a speach therapist once a week through head start. I have filed a claim for disability for him because my finances are tight and I receive no child support. The procedings are now at a point where I am being asked to have him be seen by the states doctor who will test him for his speach problems. First of all I am wondering why are they pursuing the speach testing and not the ADHD? Do children get SSI for ADHD and do they get SSI if they have speach difficulties? Is it advisable to go to the state testing or evaluation or should I let them make a decission based on the doctors I have used on my own. When is a good time to seek an attorney to process this claim?

Hi bpolarbear: You have probably already accessed this site I've provided below (Social Security Admin.) which gives some info on SSI for children. As far as SSA evaluating his speech, this will not be considered an exam that will stand alone or independent of other psychosocial / medical exams that SSA will do to determine the extent or rating of his disability. Whether or not he will qualify for SSI will depend on the conclusions reached by the examiners at SSA after they have done their own testings and evaluations, and after they have gathered all records on him from doctors he has seen up to this point, and after they "rate" his overall ability to function.

I would suggest that you do call a disability attorney and speak with them about your child. This process (applying for and reaching eligibility) can take a long, long time, and it will require many times "jumping through hoops", and I think it would be well worth your while to have an attorney represent your son's interests throughout this process. Just look in the phone book, look for disability attorneys in your area, start calling, and start asking questions. I think you'll be glad you did.

Originally posted by JETX Its absolutely scary how many ways that people can manage to belly-up to the government 'food trough'.

My son had ADD and was on Cylert, but we didn't even think of claiming him 'disabled'.

We tax-payers already pay too much money to too many people just to not work.

======================
Jetx: My sister has two children (one boy / one girl), adopted from Russia -- the boy who's now 10 years old and was diagnosed with some form of attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder about 5 years ago and put on medication. She and her husband have been advised by the "experts" in this field that it's highly possible her son will never develop appropriate coping and/or social skills and may even -- at some point -- require "institutionalization" in his adult years. She and her husband would also never think of "bellying up to the food trough" because financially they don't need to and never will need to. Some parents, though, such as this single parent, are raising children with (for all you know) some severe behavioral problems that won't be remedied by medicine or any other "hopes and prayers" and whose lives will be a little less trouble-free than your son or my sister's son -- both of whom have parents who can afford to "do it all by themselves". There's a difference, though, in your situation and my sister's. My sister (nor her husband) would make disrespectful comments to parents of children with ADHD no matter what they might feel about the food trough. That's the difference in being wealthy and being rich.

I have filed a claim for disability for him because my finances are tight and I receive no child support.

That is no reason to sentence this child to a lifetime of poverty and dependence on government support. Lots of poor children with speech impediments grow up to be self-supporting and capable adults. I believe some became scientist, presidents, novelists, actors and actors. Your son can rise to his fullest level of capabilites if you don't label him as disabled and sentence him to living a life of poverty while on government support.

Hmmm... Do you realize how OVER diagnosed ADHS is?? Virtually any parent can find a doctor to diagnose a child as ADHD. And most doctor's don't even perform rudimentary tests for ADHD, they just listen to the 'problems' that the child is having at school and write a scrip. The diagnoses of ADHD has gone up over 500% in the past few years.

For example:
"There is no urine test, blood test, PET scan, or physical test or examination that can tell if someone does or doesn’t have ADHD. This translates into mass confusion when parents, teachers, and even doctors are called upon to diagnose a child with this disorder or not. Psychiatrists around the world say that, “about half the children who show up in their offices as ADHD referrals are actually suffering from a variety of other ailments, including learning disabilities, depression or anxiety-disorders that look like ADHD, but do not need Ritalin."
Source: [url]http://essay.studyarea.com/old_essay/medicine/the_overdiagnosis_of_adhd.htm[/url]

Sure there's an overdiagnosis of it. That's been going on for about 15 years now and is common knowledge. This wasn't a thread asking advice on the overdiagnosis of ADHD, though. The diagnosis and/or overdiagnosis of it has absolutely nothing to do with a child being rated and/or being found eligible for SSI. A child could be diagnosed "anxiety disorder, mixed, with depressive syndrome" and be found eligible to receive SSI if there is an impairment sufficient for a rating of "disability". Speech impediment does not necessarily mean "disabled", but at 5 years old it certainly does mean there are some future hurdles for this child to overcome. Do you think SSA is just going to hand over a check in a few months and say "here -- here's the SSI for your child with ADHD on medication"? If you do, you don't know the SSA and their hoops. An attorney will not encourage this mother or take the case if her child does not have some significant impairments.

If I were looking for a forum to piss and moan about where my tax dollars are going and for what food trough, I would go to the criminal law forum and blast some deserving convict who's getting ready to be incarcerated and who's truly abusing my tax dollars -- not the SSI program for disabled children.

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